


Leash-ed

by Miss_Kitten



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 03:55:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13286466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Kitten/pseuds/Miss_Kitten
Summary: You and Jiminy were friends in the Enchanted Forest and, after the Curse is broken, you find each other again.





	Leash-ed

_Enchanted Forest_

A fit of giggles bubbles out of your mouth as you come to a stop, changing to heavy panting as you bend a little, resting your hands just above your knees.

A quiet buzz reaches your ears and a moment later you notice Jiminy landing on a tree stump, his breathing labored as well. He looks at you with playful sparkles in his small eyes.

“How is it possible that trouble always finds you?”

“It never leaves me, Jiminy,” you say with a mischievous grin and Jiminy rolls his eyes.

“But the adventures we have! Imagine the stories you’ll tell your grandchildren.”

“I don’t suppose crickets can have grandchildren, Y/N,” he notes, dead-serious, and for a moment you feel incredibly stupid.

It was easy to forget that Jiminy wasn’t a person. He was always caring, kind, and supportive and you quickly bonded, opting to spend plenty of time together. Mostly on fooling around and angering other inhabitants of the Forest.

From time to time, Jiminy would sit you down and talk with you for hours. Without any mistake, he could guess when you needed it the most and always found a way to solve what was bothering you.

He’s been a valuable friend to you, the only real one you’ve ever had.

“Jim-“

“I was just joking,” he teases and giggles and you scoff, sticking out your tongue at him.

“Besides, if I was a human, I wouldn’t be able to fly. I enjoy flying.”

“Well, I can only imagine,” you shrug and just as you’re about to add something more, heavy footsteps catch your attention.

You glance at Jiminy with an excited gleam in your eyes.

“Run!” he urges and takes off first, you following suit immediately as you dart forward, your friend coming to your side in seconds.

A huge grin doesn’t come off of your lips. It never goes off when you’re with Jiminy.

Yet, a time came when you had to part ways. Jiminy wanted to settle down, whilst you couldn’t give up your adventures. You were sad, of course you were – you weren’t sure if you’d see him ever again. The Forest was vast, and knowing your restless nature, you couldn’t bet a coin on anything. The possibility of not meeting Jiminy again was bigger than that of meeting him, and, not without tears and broken heart, you came to terms with it.

But you missed him. Every day of your long journey ended up with a thought of Jiminy and how much better and funnier would it be with him.

________

_Storybrook_

You outstretch your arms above your head to flex a little. Perdita, your dog, watches you curiously, tilting her head to the side.

“Just give me a moment, we’ll go for a walk soon.”

A happy bark comes as approval and hurrying up, and you slide out of bed to start getting ready for the day.

First, coffee. You can’t imagine not having a hot steaming mug of black goodness in the morning. Once it’s ready, you leave it to cool down a little as you head to take a shower and dress up.

Before you took Perdita in, your morning routine was prolonged as much as it could be. Now, having a dog to care for, you learnt how to ready yourself in no time and you became a master of quickly-put make up.

A few sips of coffee later, you have a leash in your hand, and on the other end of it, a very impatient Perdita.

She moves her paws in place, almost pleading with her eyes as you put on your shoes. You shove a jacket on your shoulders and leave your apartment, Perdita pulling the leash to make you go faster.

Sometimes you aren’t so sure who is walking who.

After Perdita tends to her most urgent needs, you head to the nearby park, for a longer walk. Luckily, you have a day off today.

Well, frankly, everyone has a day off since the recent unexpected event kind of turned the town upside down.

Emma managed to broke the Curse and all of you suddenly remembered your previous lives. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, at least to you. You wouldn’t mind carrying on as a simple baker, happy with her lonely existence, accompanied by a dog.

You didn’t long for anything more before the Curse was lifted. But now, as you recalled your adventures, the loss of your loved ones, parting with your best friend… how can you have something more, how can you find something more stuck in Storybrook?

Everything was lost, never to be regained again, and after a long time, the feeling of emptiness found its way to your heart again.

You wished the Curse was left on so that you could continue, unaware of what happened in the Enchanted Forest.

But it was only wishful thinking, and you know you have to, somehow, get used to your new situation, whether you are happy about it or not.

Perdita barks but you don’t pay attention. You’re lost in your thoughts, trying to somehow put two versions of yourself into one, fuse two stories into one, absolutely not minding the path in front of you.

Of course, a rock is unnoticed until you topple over it and come down, fortunately able to move your hands forward to kind of cushion your fall and prevent from landing on your face.

You let out a frustrated huff and hiss when you feel Perdita’s wet nose nudging your cheek.

“I’m okay, girl, I’m okay,” you assure her as you get on your feet again, cleaning your palms from the gravel.

Perdita barks again and pulls the leash, leading you to the bench. You sit on it, even thou you’re not actually hurt. However, you know your dog well – she won’t leave you be until you let her take care of you as she wants.      

“Are you happy now?” you ask when sniffs your palms and licks them a little. She sends you an odd look and before you can react anyhow, she darts somewhere behind your back.

“Perdita!” you yell after her, your tone low and scolding but she doesn’t stop. She disappears from your sight and you sigh.

What a perfect day.

Ignoring the slight stinging, you move your hands to cover your face as you try to gather your thoughts. Obviously, Perdita didn’t run away from you. She’ll come back, that’s certain. Maybe she spotted something more appealing than her injured human?

You let out a shaky breath just as a crunch of gravel lets you know that someone is approaching. You recognize your dog when Perdita lowers her head to look at you and a wave of relief washes over you.

“You had to go and scare me, huh? Where did you rush to?”

She barks happily, wiggling her tail and only when someone clears their throat, you lift your gaze.

“Hi, are- Y/N?!”

You frown. You are positive you have never seen the man standing in front of you, although he seems to look familiar. His eyes are gleaming with joy as he gazes at you. You’re getting more and more confused with every passing second.

“I’m sorry but-“

“You don’t know me, of course. I wasn’t me when we met. I’m Jiminy. Well, Archie in Storybrook, but Jiminy in the Enchanted Forest.”

“No way…” you mutter as you jump onto your feet, wrapping your arms around his neck.

He chuckles at your eagerness but hugs you nonetheless.

“I thought I’d never find you again!”

“Me too! You went to have your adventures, and I haven’t seen you in Storybrook either, I thought you didn’t come here with the rest!”

“Apparently we just never crossed paths. Which is weird given the dogs,” you tilt your head slightly to the side where Perdita and Archie’s dog are getting quite familiar with each other.

“Pongo, be a gentleman. Take the lady for a walk first,” Archie mumbles and Pongo lowers his head, seemingly ashamed, before nudging Perdita’s side and leading her to an open field.

Meanwhile you untangle yourself from around Archie’s neck and resume sitting on a bench, patting the stop next to you.

Once again, a wide bright smile creeps onto your lips, your heart filling with delight. You won’t be alone anymore.  

Archie takes a seat next to you and flashes you a warm smile.

“We have so much time to catch up with…”


End file.
